Saudi Aramco sells 15,000 tonnes naphtha for H1 July loading

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Saudi Aramco has sold 15,000 tonnes of A180 naphtha for loading in first half of July from ?xml:namespace>Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, a source close to the company said on Tuesday.

The cargo, which was purchased early this week, was settled at a premium of $14-15/tonne (€11-12/tonne) to Middle East quotes FOB (free on board), the source said.

“This parcel was a top-up for our current term customer,” the source said.

Last week, Saudi Aramco sold a spot cargo of 60,000 tonnes of open-spec naphtha from Rabigh for loading in the first half of July at a $14-15/tonne premium to Middle East quotes FOB. It also sold another parcel of at most 50,000 tonnes of chemical feed naphtha from Al Jubail based on Saudi Aramco’s pricing formula, according to the source. Further details on the price were not available.

The company is currently in discussions for a 55,000-tonne cargo of open-spec naphtha for loading in first half of July from Rabigh, the source said.

The parcel will probably be settled by 19-20 June, the source said.

“The premium may be actually higher [than the previous settlement]. Market sentiment is a bit better, with Honam [Petrochemical] coming out to buy,” the source added.

Saudi Aramco is planning to offer 55,000 tonnes of A180 naphtha for loading in the first half of July from Ras Tanura.

“We may have more spot material for first-half July loading because of the reduced sales of our term contracts,” he said.